Working With Legislators Lenders in Massachusetts Offer Example of Playing the Long Game By Joel Berg
MASSACHUSETTS LAWMAKERS ACTED with good intentions in 2010 when they decided to require in-person counseling for borrowers of reverse mortgages. The United
consumer protections, particularly for older borrowers who qualified for a reverse mortgage. “They just had the feeling that in-person counseling would be better since we’re dealing with a protected class,” says George Downey, CRMP, a reverse mortgage lender and regional senior vice president in Braintree, MA, for The Federal Savings Bank, a Chicago-based lender. What lawmakers did not understand were reverse mortgages and the impact the requirement would have
States had just gone through a major financial crisis in which runaway home lending played a central role. And state legislators were eager to strengthen George Downey
24 REVERSE MORTGAGE / SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2024
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker